Rebuild Part II: Blood Ties
by cfulling3
Summary: Casey has made it to Jackson and begins to settle down and live her life. Her father has begun to trace her steps after two and a half years of chasing ghosts. Halfway across the world, armies grow. Tensions between the remaining powers build as resources dwindle. In the middle of it all, sits the most important resource imaginable: the cure.
1. Prologue- Siege of London

**A/N: All translations are from Google Translator, so I apologize for any inaccuracies. The story will be returning back to the original storyline from part one, but I'm beginning a second story in side of this one relating to what's happening in Europe.**

Prologue: Siege of London

A heavy cloud of spores lingered in the air, trapped by the rumble of engines could be heard echoing throughout the city as LAV's rolled through, pulling the attention of the entire city on them. The entire city, except for one man. Dr. Ivan Groves, the man this was all for. If he wasn't here, we would of just bombed the city to ashes. We can't while he's here. His life was too important.

He made the breakthrough the CDC and the World Health Organization could not. He knew how to stop the Cordyceps Brain Infection.

My radio sprang to life, "_Sergeant Hammond, haben Sie den Doktor noch befindet?_" (Sergeant Hammond, have you located the Doctor yet?) my CO sounded tense. Who wouldn't when the entire human species was on the line?

"Negative, Umzug in bekannten Ort jetzt dauern." (Negative, moving to last known location now.) I responded. We were outside the door of the building he last reported in about 15 minutes later, when we heard a shriek followed by clicking. I shuddered as I realized I stepped on a pile of glass. The Clicker grabbed me and bit down on my shoulder, it's teeth sinking deep into the shoulder pad. It jarred the piece of armor loose before a gunshot rang out and an .45 AP round struck it in the head. It dropped, pulling me down. My companion held out his hand to pick me up, I swatted it away saying, "Ich bin gut, ich bin gut! lassen Sie uns nun in." (I'm good, I'm good! Let's move in.)

We opened the door to find a person in a tattered lab coat and gas mask pointing a pistol at me. Two other people sat on the couch behind him, a man and a woman; the woman had no gas mask on and looked like she'd seen the other side.

"Deutsche, Gott sei Dank, dass Sie hier sind. Ich war immer besorgt, dass Sie nicht kommen." (Germans, thank god you're here. I was getting worried you weren't coming.) I was a little taken aback by his fluency in German, but noticed his trouble with the W's sounding as V's. "Sie einer von Ihnen sprechen Englisch?" (Do either one of you speak English?)

I nodded my head towards Steiner, and then turned my attention to the woman without a gas mask. Her skin had tightened around white spots bursting out of her head and blood leaked out of the places they burst out and out of her nose. Infected. She was infected. So why wasn't she attacking them?

"Schießen Sie sie nicht! Sie ist in Behandlung, ist der Cordyceps nicht in ihrem Körper nicht mehr!" (Don't shoot her! She's received treatment, the cordyceps isn't in her body anymore!) I heard the Doctor call over to me.

Holy shit, he's actually done it. He's fucking CURED an Infected person, I thought. I pulled out my radio and called the CO. "Sir, das ist Sergeant Hammond und Corporal Steiner. Wir haben den Arzt entfernt, und zwei Überlebende ... Sir, er ist verdammt getan. Er ist geheilt eine infizierte Patienten!" (Sir, this is Sergeant Hammond and Corporal Steiner. We have located the doctor and two survivors… Sir, he's fucking done it. He's cured an Infected patient!)


	2. Chapter 1- Safe

Chapter 1: Safe

Casey- Wyoming

_… The knife stuck in the forehead of the second man. No matter how hard I tried to pull it out, it would not budge. My attention was pulled by the sound of a slow clap. I looked towards it and felt my blood run cold. It has haunted for two damn years walked towards me; speaking in his spine-chilling voice that was meant to be calming, "Good job, child. You have removed them from your life. You have taken the the initiative He has given you in order to achieve salvation."_

_I looked down, sick to my stomach, and found the man I killed was Abraham. Horrified I pushed off the body and crawled backwards. Bumping into the body of another man, one I hadn't seen for years, but loved him equally as much; my father. I backed right into It. He knelt down, turned my head to stare into the eyes of evil. He spoke again, his hand moving down my arm, down to my hand, "Do not be afraid," he said, his voice calming me. His hand reached my wrist, "This what the Lord wants." His hand was on mine, and he began rubbing it with his thumb, "We were meant to be together." He hissed, pulling me out of whatever was allowing me to be comforted by him._

_I screamed at him, my broken-but-starting-to-recover cheekbone screamed in agony along wit me, "NO! GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF OF ME!" he pushed me down, and kept me from getting away. He stared into my eyes, giving the most evil smile imaginable._

_He started to chant my name, trying to stop my cries for help. His voice began changing as it picked up, "Casey...Casey… CaseY… CasEY… CaSEY… CASEY… CASEY… CA_SEY!"

My eyes shot open, to see Tommy sitting next to me. He was shaking me awake, saying my name over and over again until I woke up.

I stared at him for a second trying to get words out, but all I managed to say before breaking down and crying into his chest was, "He-he was g-going to-"

Tommy just held me and started to say it was only a dream. It wasn't a dream in any sense. I couldn't tell him about how It had trapped me in their hideout's basement for almost eight months. How It now haunted my dreams. I could hear footsteps behind him, I didn't need to look up to know who it was. Aaron, Tommy and Maria's son. I don't understand why he hated me, he just did.

I could feel him glaring at me, irritated with his rude awakening. He started to speak to his father, "Can you PLEASE get that Thing to quiet down? I really need to sleep, I've got a test tomorrow." I hate that name. Why does he have to call me that? I've always told myself to try and ignore the piece of shit, but it's getting harder to not stomp on his throat.

Tommy relaxed his hold on me; and I did the same, reluctantly. He looked at me and asked if I'd be fine.

"Yeah…. Yeah, I'll be fine." I lied. There's no way I'd be able to sleep after that nightmare. It was too real.

Tommy left back to his room, Aaron just shook his head and closed the door. I walked over to the window with a built in chair at the sill, sat down, with my chest resting on my knees, and grabbed Abraham's dog tags. I'm still learning how to read it, but I've gotten some of them down.

_W-lk-r_

_Abr-h-m J_

_1-4_5-7_6-84_

_O -OS: BOS-ON -Z_

_C-th-l-_

I wiped away the tears that continued to slowly fall down her cheeks. I remembered how I tried to hide my feelings of loss eight months ago, when I woke up to find the man I viewed as a father dead. I leaned against the window stared out at the city through the rain. Six months in Jackson, and I still wasn't used to not having to be afraid, not having to run. Those feelings were bred into me, it's literally been my life for fourteen years. It didn't help that about half the city viewed me as some sort of savage. They don't think I should be in the city. I closed my eyes and allowed my thoughts to drip into memories of my father, having to become familiar with them after keeping him out my life for so long.

**A/N: I've decided to follow the advice of somebody who reviewed the first piece I've and read the story aloud as I wrote it down. Hopefully it allowed for a less choppy experience for a reader. I'm spending a few chapters exclusively for developing the personalities of my OC's. I'm interested in hearing what you guys tell me where you think I should go with in these storylines:**

_*** Casey's relationship with Ellie**_

_*** The Cold War going on between German-Russian Union and the Chinese Federation**_

_*** Brandon's struggle to find his daughter**_

**And now, Question of the Chapter: Should there be an ElliexOC relationship with Casey?**


	3. Chapter 2- Wars

Chapter 2: Wars

Brandon- Montana/ Wyoming Border

_Two years…_ Those words meant more to me than they should have. They represented how long I've gone with being able to make sure my little girl was cared for. And, now, the only direction I've had the go on is north. But, that direction was muttered from a man bleeding to death for wanting to treat my daughter like a fucking prostitute. Now, I'm at the point where nobody has seen anybody resembling the photo taped onto my jacket's forearm. Thankfully, nobody at the Waypoint I've been staying at knows the… not-quite-bullshit rumors being spread about me. Unfortunately, it's harder for me to collect information here since nobody's scared of me. But, I had an easier time getting in than places where people know who I am.

There were three men talking about something a little closely for me to not hear them. I half-heartedly listened to them, focussing primarily on drinking a flask of Kentucky bourbon that I found on an unlucky hiker, thinking of my next move.

"... We're on a scouting…"

"... Figured we'd stop by and…"

"Damn, you're sure anyone…"

"Hey!" A bark at me startled me back to reality. I looked to my left to see some twenty-year-old sitting next to me, "Did you not hear me old man? I told you to give me some," The kid looked a lot stronger than me, and probably thought he could use it as a bully tactic to get what he wanted.

I snorted at him and flatly stated, "I've been saving this for a while, and I'm not giving it to some fucking kid who thinks he can scare it from me."

"I need that drink. Do you have any idea of what I've been through out there? Huh?"

I sighed, screwed the cap back on, put the flask away, looked towards the kid, and said, "I have no idea what you've been through? _I have no idea what you've been through?_" I told him, allowing my anger to show, "Well, kid, how would you like to know what I've been through? I've been alive since before everything went to shit. I saw world around me crumble and DIE. I've never seen the inside of a Quarantine Zone. I had to kill my own fucking wife after giving birth to my daughter so she wouldn't Turn. I had to take care of that child for thirteen years alone. I had to watch my daughter, who I would've DIED to protect, get taken away from me before I'm shot and left to bleed to death. I was pulled away from my one chance of finding her. I think I'm entitled to keep this One. Measly. Drink." The man stood up to maintain eye contact when I stood up. And threw a punch at me. I grabbed it with one hand, redirected it's path so I could spin him into a headlock. After that, I threw him to down and spotting a moment where his neck was vulnerable, stomped on it. He tried to scream in pain, but his mouth filled with blood and a gagging sound as I crushed his windpipe, carotid, and jugular. He clawed at my foot uselessly trying to get it off his neck, until he finally asphyxiated.

I noticed the place was staring at me and not a single voice spoke. Fights at Waypoints weren't uncommon. Death's weren't unheard of, but barely anybody's seen one go that quickly. I looked over to the three men I was listening to earlier, and asked, "So, how about this Safe Zone you were talking about?"

Sergeant Hammond- London

**BANG!**

The last Stalker fell over dead. We should have killed that Clicker more silently rather than alert all Infected not drawn to the armored vehicles. I exhausted all my ammo for the assault rifle I carried and was using an M1911 now. I heard what sounded like a rumble, and saw large clusters of spore pods glowing through the spores. A Bloater. My heart sunk, a Bloater would've been dangerous enough in close quarters, but they can throw spore pods that have yet to disperse, tapping into stomach acids that could melt through a gas mask in a direct hit. I turned towards Steiner, who began screaming when a Runner got ahold of his exposed forearm. He was holding a rocket launcher, and fired as the Runner pulled the arm down to get a shot at his throat. He let go of the launcher, and grabbed it's head. He stomped on his boot, and pivoted, revealing a knife on the inside of the shoe. I heard an explosion and turned to see the Bloater running underneath a now falling piece of building. It instantly crushed half the Bloater, killing it immediately. I looked back at Steiner, and watched him finish the Runner off with a kick to the throat. His arm was bleeding. He'd been bitten, I pulled my gun up, he was too good of a man to Turn, and I was about to fire when the Doctor shouted at me, "Nein! Er kann immer noch geheilt werden kann, hat er nicht zu sterben." (No! He can be cured still, he does not have to die.)

I restrained him, and he leaned against me for support. My radio blared to life, as our CO relayed orders to the military in the city, _"Alle Einheiten, lernen Notfall als Charlie, Echo, und so schnell wie möglich Golf bezeichnet Evakuierung Punkten. Air Radar zeigt eine große Gruppe von chinesischen H-6 schwere Bomber Einzug."_ (All units, get to emergency evacuation points designated as Charlie, Echo, and Golf ASAP. Air Radar is showing a large group of Chinese H-6 Heavy Bombers moving in.)


	4. Chapter 3- Breaking

**A/N: I've decided by Chapter 5, I will use the most common answer to the question from Chapter 1 in deciding. If nobody answers I will use my original plan, same for if the same for if number of people say "yes" is equal to the number that says "no" The Question is: Should there be an ElliexOC relationship with Casey?**

Chapter 3: Breaking

Brandon- Wyoming

I dropped my hands on the edge of the sink. Panting heavily, I looked at myself in the mirror, something I haven't done in years. My eyes lost the ability to hide what I truly am months ago behind a mask of insanity. They were now the eyes of a cold, calculating killer. A monster, that's what I am.

My brown hair had strands of gray and black running through it. The clothes I wore carried the stains of two years and eight months of punishment. My face has lost its color after months of keeping it hidden behind a gas mask.

I traced a scar I that formed on my forehead to the left half of my jaw. Thinking about how I got it. Unable to come up with anything, I leaned against the wall to my back, and rubbed my face once.

Ellie- Wyoming

Casey was quiet, even for herself she was quiet. She had a haunted look in her eyes that said she didn't want to talk about what happened. I've wanted to find out what she's been thinking, but I respect her too much to just force her to talk. I decided I'd open up to her to see if she would tell me if she knew my story.

I took a deep breath and began, "Back in the fall two years ago, Joel and I were searching a University when we got attacked by a group of Hunters. One of the Hunters pushed him into the railing of a walkway. I pointed my gun at the guy's head, but he and Joel were too tangled up in a fight from my angle, so I was helpless. Joel got the guy off of him, and he fell into the railing, causing it to break sending him and Joel over the edge. He landed on his head, so he was killed, but Joel survived and landed on a piece of 20-year-old rebar," She was looking at me, intent on hearing the story, "I managed to get him out of there, but he passed out from blood loss too quickly for us to get to someplace I could patch him up. I'd never been so scared in my life." I went on to tell her about how I brought him to a mall. The search for something to stitch him up, then bringing him to the Lakeside Resort, and about David.

Casey wiped away the tears that began falling down my face as my mind went into those memories. She then put her hand on my leg and leaned into me. Slowly, she started to speak in an unconfident voice, "My dad and I had been trying to get into a QZ when a Hunter ambushed us. My dad called for me to look at something behind me, so I turned and just saw a rifle stock slam into my right cheek-that's where this scar comes from- and knocked me out. When I woke up," She shuddered, "I was trapped in their group's hideout. S-somebody ope-opened the d-door and he s-saw I was a-wake," I grabbed her hand and squeezed tightly when the tears began to come, "H-he t-old me not to s-s-cream, a-a-nd th-en he-" She couldn't do anything to stop herself from crying at this point, "Th-ey h-had me tra-pped th-ere f-or eight mo-nths, while they d-id hor-horrible th-ings to m-me. I w-as try-ing t-to esc-ape wh-en the m-an gr-abb-ed me a-and h-he s-tabbed my l-eg, and m-ana-ged to br-eak the b-one," I pulled her closer to me, trying to comfort her, "H-he pin-ned me d-own and… oh god, his v-oice-"

I couldn't let her finish. I just allowed her to cry into my chest, I let go of her other hand and wrapped that arm around her, and began moving my other hand through her hair. I just kept repeating that she's okay now, and that she doesn't have to continue. This poor girl. I don't even know what to say. I know what it's like? I don't. David only kept me there for a day. I wasn't raped repeatedly, or had whatever other horrible things happened to me. He did try to rape me, he did try to kill and eat me. But, she's a year and a half younger than me, and she's had to keep this inside for, who knows how long? She's had to keep from breaking down for a long time, undoubtedly. At least I had Joel to comfort me. At least I had somebody I could confide in on our journey. Even if that person was, well, Joel, I still could talk to him.

Casey- Wyoming

I don't know why Ellie let me cry as long as I did. It must have been ten minutes before my wailing turned into sniffling.

I hate this place. Here, I can't run from what happened. There's nowhere to run. I need to just deal with the nightmares here.


	5. Chapter 4- Missing

**A/N: Just so everybody knows, the Siege of London Story takes place about five years before the main story. And, they **_**will**_ **be intertwined.**

Chapter 4: Missing

Alyssa- Wyoming

I woke up to the sound of groaning.

A Nomad.

_A fucking_ Nomad.

Of all the people to overhear us, it had to be a fucking Nomad. Hell, least Hunters can become predictable when you go with a group of them for five years. But Nomads? Oh, no, you can't figure out Nomads that way. Nomads don't travel with others, so you can't figure them out like that. You can end up mistaking a friendly scavenger for a cannibal more easily than when you're in a group. Nomads are always moving, so you can't predict their attack placements. And Nomads… Nomads are the absolute worst. Without a group to support them, they either become cannibalistic, mentally unstable, or a total animal.

In the case of the man who had us tied to chairs in a small cabin two and a half miles northwest of Jackson, he's a Tracker.

We made it too easy for him. We didn't necessarily try to hide our trails. Until two days ago, when we spotted him watching our trail. I'm sure he could've gotten us sooner, but he made a game of it. Trackers typically did that shit.

I snapped out of half-sleep at the sound of Ben scream. Poor kid, he's fucking 17, and this is how he dies. I saw the Tracker holding Ben's shoulder, digging into his leg with a boot knife. He looked at me through the gas mask he seemed to wear too much. He let go of the knife, walked over to me, and just punch me in the jaw, then in my stomach. He pulled my head back to look at me in the eyes, and shouted at me, "Do you like watching this happen, bitch? You just have to say one simple thing, and this all ends with you two alive if just answer my fucking question! _Where is the fucking Safe Zone?_" He looked over at Ben, bent down picked up a blood-stained, slightly rusted saw, stepped over to Ben, grabbed his head and said while putting the saw to his exposed neck, "Maybe… maybe you need some extra convincing…"

Joel- Wyoming

*Three hours earlier*

I looked across the table at the girl. Ellie, as usual, had her attention partially on her breakfast, and partially on the newest addition to those comics she found on our journey across the country. I gave small cough and tried to get her attention. Surprisingly, she looked up at me. "So, what's your schedule for today?"

She looked into the air, trying to remember what she was meant to do today. "Let's see… after breakfast, I've got school until lunch. After lunch, I think I'm training at the hospital, so I might not be home for dinner tonight." She looked at me and added, "What are you doing today?"

"I'm at the stables until afternoon, then I'm on the evening and night patrols. I won't be home until dawn, so don't worry when you get home and I'm not here."

"Joel, I'll be fine," She was about to say more, but was interrupted by the sound of somebody knocking on the door.

"I'll get it, you just focus on getting ready for school," She nodded and went back to her breakfast. I started walking towards the door to open it, but Tommy burst through too quickly.

"Joel, I need to talk to you. Now."

"Okay, what is it?" I asked, a little startled by his sense of urgency.

He calmed down a bit before saying, "A couple weeks ago, I sent a small group to scout along the Montana-Wyoming border. They reported in at the military outpost on schedule, but they missed their report at the gate last night. They haven't shown up this morning either, so I'm going to go look for them, and I'd like for you to come along," He said. The urgency in his tone earlier was understandable now.

"Will it just be the two of us?" I asked.

While stepping to the side, Tommy responded, "No, she's been cleared to start going on patrols," And, there was little Casey staring into the house, her bright blue eyes shone with curiosity; until she saw Ellie in the kitchen looking back at her. She quickly ducked her head and was blushing slightly.

I had to smile at her behavior, she reminded of how I used to act around a girl I liked before I worked the nerve to talk to them. She liked Ellie, it was pretty obvious.

Casey- Wyoming

The three of us were walking up a hill on an almost invisible trail of leaves that were covering it. Tommy was ahead of Joel and I by about 20 feet, although I'm certain Joel could've been closer if he wanted to be. He looked over at me and chuckled when he saw me staring at him, wondering he was doing next to me.

"I saw how quickly you turned to look away from Ellie," He said… surprisingly casually.

_Oh, fuck_, was pretty much the thought that invaded my brain for the next thirty seconds before I tried to come up with some weak lie, "It's not li-"

"That's bullshit and you know it. I've been caught several times staring at a girl I had a crush on, and looking away just as quickly," he said, cutting off my vain attempt to cover my ass.

"I'm sorry, Joel," I said weakly. What the hell were they going to do to me? The last time I saw a person who wanted to be with somebody that wasn't the opposite gender, they were being lead in front of a firing squad having something called _Leviticus20:13_ at them, and then shooting them.

"Why? There's nothing to be sorry about, Casey," he said, sounding confused about my apology. "You're not the only person in Jackson that is gay."

"I'm not the only person like this here?"

"No, not at all. There's always been something more important for most people to really care about that kind of stuff at all." He wasn't lying, but I still wasn't convinced I wasn't going to be punished in some way. He changed the subject, thankfully, "How're you liking Jackson?"

I thought for a second before saying, "It's a change from what I've become used to. Not everybody has been very welcoming of me."

"Yeah, unfortunately, some people forget it was the kindness of those inside the walls that allowed them to live here; or they were born inside the walls, and don't know anything about the world outside them," Joel said, implying he and Ellie had a difficult time with the people here when they first settled.

I opened my mouth to speak, but was cut short by a loud scream from somewhere ahead.

Tommy spun around to look at us, "Oh, shit that sounded like Ben!"

"Yeah! We need to move!"


	6. Chapter 5- Reunion

**A/N: Alright, the results of my question about introducing an ElliexOC relationship is that I'll be doing my original plan. In other news, the next couple chapters will take place in the Siege of London story.**

Chapter 5: Reunion

Ben- Wyoming

I made her promise not to tell him last night. I didn't want this sick fuck anywhere near Jackson. Now, I wanted nothing more than to hear Alyssa say the direction to it. I didn't want my fucking head sawed off.

"Suit yourself, bitch," He said, putting pressure on the blade and beginning to pull it back. I tried to scream in pain as the teeth began to cut into my neck, but it came out as a whimper.

I heard her stammering, trying to speak, "S-southeast. It's about three miles southeast of here. Approach with your weapons holstered and hands in the air," I could feel the blade stop cutting and move away. He took his hand off my head, but put it on my shoulder.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" He growled, and for a second, I felt like my head had split open, before I surrendered to a cold darkness.

Brandon- Wyoming

The woman flinched at the sound of the gunshot. I had no use for them anymore. I put the boy down, but I wasn't letting her die easily because she wouldn't co-operate with me. I pulled the knife out of the dead boy's leg, and grabbed her chin, thinking I could slit her throat. Nah, still seems too quick.

I decided on stabbing her in the lungs, so she'd drown on her own blood, when I heard yelling outside and somebody trying to break in. "Don't fuckin' tell them," I almost shouted at her before ducking under a mattress I brought out here. I reloaded my pistol, but decided to use the darkness in the house created by covering the windows to kill with the knife quietly and disappear.

Joel- Wyoming

"Open… you… piece… of…" I grunted between my attempts to bash the door down. Finally it gave way, brightening the otherwise dark house. The scent of gunsmoke and blood hit us almost immediately. I raised my shotgun, and motioned for Tommy and Casey to raise their guns as well. "Tommy, you check upstairs. Casey, you're with me on this floor." They both nodded and Tommy walked upstairs. Casey went to the kitchen and began searching. I headed into the living room, and was greeted by two people tied to chairs, one was hanging limply in their chair with their head at one side, blood dripping off the side. The other person was struggling to get out of the restraints on their wrists. They looked up at me, and began struggling even more. I ran over to get a better look at them. It took me a minute to look through the blood and bruises, and see the person was Alyssa. I began to talk to her, "It's okay, calm down Alyssa. It's me Joel."

She looked at me with fear in her eyes before choking out, "Joel… behind… you…"

I turned to face what she was looking at a second too late. Something covered in white smashed into me and put a knife to my throat. I kneed it in the stomach before punching its face, safely getting it off of me. I scrambled to my feet, pulling out a makeshift knife and stared at the thing. It turned out to be a very thin man wearing clothes that had all the color drained from overuse, except grass and blood stains. I panicked when I saw him wearing a gas mask, fearing everybody in here but him has breathed in spores. When I realized the air was clear, I had fallen for his trap: trick the person he was fighting into thinking the air was contaminated. He rushed me, pinning me against a wall, and trying to stab me. He almost did, but I got hold of his wrist a second before I would've been dead. I tried to pull the shiv up and stab him, but he kneed my stomach, causing me to drop it.

He screamed in pain and turned to look at Casey, who just stabbed his side. He punched her in the chin, following it up with an elbow to mine. He kicked her in the ribs, sending her to the ground.

Casey- Wyoming

I felt my ribs crack when the steel tips of his boot hit them. I fell to the floor, gasping for air that was becoming harder to breathe in by the second. It didn't help when he stomped on my cheek, cutting it up and breaking it again. He rolled me over with his foot and began choking whatever air I had left out. I weakly tried to punch this man, but I lost too much strength to back it up, and I got another punch to the cheek. Why haven't Joel or Tommy helped me? All I was able to do was stare at him, begging to live as my vision began to fade.

I saw a glimmer of recognition cross his eyes, before the horror set in. The last thing I heard before losing consciousness was a familiar voice speak with fear.

"C-casey…?"


	7. Chapter 6- Russia

**A/N is at the end of the chapter.**

Chapter 6: Russia

_Five years ago_

Prime Minister Augustus Himmel- Berlin

I sat at my desk, moving my hands through already messy hair. Not only did I have to worry about keeping CBI out of the remnants of the EU, feeding thirty million people, or the one-hundred and forty thousand people in London trying to get some doctor out of there. But now, the damned Chinese Federation (a short name for East Asia Crisis Response), a treaty organization composed of Japan, China, and the Koreas, has been putting unneeded pressure on our borders and is threatening _war_ by attacking the fleet stationed outside of London.

Unless we hand over one person that can save the world within five hours.

I had two solutions: beg the Russians, or give in and watch the entire world burn while they hold the cure mockingly to those not in their alliance.

I looked up at the sound of a door opening, and saw Gregor walking in, he looked at me and blinked in surprise at my condition. He gave a weird chuckle/cough before speaking, "Verdammt, Sir Sie bessere Tage gesehen haben. Wann haben Sie das letzte Mal geschlafen?" (Damn, sir you've seen better days. When have you last slept?)

"Vor mindestens zwei Wochen. Was wollen Sie?" (At least two weeks ago. What do you want?) I said, almost dismissing his question.

"Wir wollen Ihre Entscheidung. Haben wir zugeben, oder fragen die Russen?" (We're wanting your decision. Do we concede, or ask Russia?) He said. He was about to say something about my sleeping, but decided not to after analyzing my tone.

I sighed, put my hands on the desk, thought for a second, and then told him, "Rufen Admiral Anastasiya. Wir geben ihn nicht zu den Hunden." (Call Admiral Anastasiya. We're not giving him to those dogs.)

Sergeant Hammond- London

_Ohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuck… _I'm not sure how long this this thought ran through my head, but it was at least a minute after I walked into a Chinese convoy. I don't think I've had to run as hard as I had to then in the sixteen years I've been in the KSK. I heard an explosion and the ceiling of the building I was in giving way from the 30mm cannon. I got before the building I was in fell on itself, but it was a close enough call, that a piece of debris broke my gas mask.

I got enough air in beforehand that I could safely put on my extra five minutes of clean air. A small oxygen tank.

Pain shot through my head as a soldier wearing a patch showing he was Japanese hit me. I pulled my pistol out when I got far enough away to pull off a shot. Unfortunately, I misjudged how fast he could close the distance, and the shot went harmlessly into the air. We struggled over the gun for a minute, firing two more shots. When the gun was pointed towards the ground, he headbutted me, causing me loosen my grip. He took the chance to knee me in the stomach, causing whatever grip I had left on it to disappear. I felt the barrel press against my head, until the pressure came off and his grip on my camouflage hoodie vanished. I looked up to see him being pulled away from me, his arms being held behind his back.

The man who held him was wearing thick body armor over a white jacket. He brought the guy to his knees and pulled off the poor bastard's gas mask and tossed it to me saying, "Hier müssen Sie eine Gasmaske mehr als er," He snorted with amusement when he saw the man actually choking to death on the large amount of spores in the air before adding, "Nun, zumindest jetzt tun." (Here, you need a gas mask more than he does. Well, at least now you do.)

As fucked up as it was, he had a point. I took one more deep breath and held it, turned the back-up oxygen, took the mask off, and put the man's gas mask on. I gave a curt nod and said, "Danke ... wer zum Teufel sind Sie?" (Thanks... who the hell are you?)

"Ich bin Oberstleutnant Wassili Aristov. Sprechen Sie russisch?" (I am Lieutenant Colonel Vasily Aristov. Do you speak Russian?) he said.

I was confused: what in the actual _fuck_ were Russians doing here? I gave him the answer in Russian, "Da, ya govoryu po-russki . Kakogo cherta ty zdes' delayesh'?" (Yeah, I speak Russian. What the hell are you doing here?)

Vasily laughed before saying, "Vy ne slyshali, nemetskiy? Vashe pravitel'stvo chertovski prosil admirala Anastasiya napravit' pomoshch' k vam zdes', v Londone. V sluchaye, yesli vy yeshche ne ponyali, vash flot nakhoditsya pod atakoy kitaytsev." (You haven't heard, German? Your government fucking _begged_ Admiral Anastasiya to send help to you here in London. In case you haven't realized yet, your fleet is under attack by the Chinese.)

He waited for me to search the corpse of the person he sentenced to death either by infection, or choking on spores and grab his weapon before ordering me to follow his team. My thoughts kept going back to the Doctor and the rest of the people I was travelling with, before one wrong step separated us. Sending me tumbling down a five-story building and them continuing on, trying to get the Doctor and whatever was in his backpack out of the city.

My thoughts slowly shifted to this man's name. Vasily Aristov. Where have I heard that name before? It sounded so familiar, but from where? I don't remember meeting anybody with that name before, and news pretty much went back to the Dark Ages when CBI struck. So, who is he, and why do I know him?

**A/N: As I've said before, I'm using Google Translate for the languages other than English that appear, so I apologize for all inaccuracies whenever they appear. Have questions about the story or any constructive criticisms for me? I'd love to hear them, so either review or send me a Private Message if you do. Thanks in advance!**


	8. Chapter 7- The Cure

Chapter 7: The Cure

_Five years ago_

Doctor Ivan Groves- London

The sergeant will be fine. I haven't known him that long, but I can tell he's a survivor; I'm probably just thinking this to help put my mind at ease that I supported leaving him behind. I glanced over at Steiner, who was now leaning on William, one of my companions when the Germans found me. His condition has deteriorated severely, he was panting, despite the slow pace we moved at, he was sweating uncontrollably, skin lesions had appeared several hours ago, he was experiencing muscle spasms consistent with epileptic seizures, and he was complaining of severe dehydration before the cordyceps took his ability to speak; he'll turn within two hours. Once we got the contents of my backpack to a secure location, I would be able to mix it in with intravenous fluid and inject him. Sarah was proof it'd work, she was infected for at least a week before we found her. After the most agonizing twenty-four hours of his life; he'd be fine.

My train of thought was interrupted by somebody who put the cold barrel of a handgun against my temple. He spoke to William and the three German soldiers we ran across on our way out in a thick Chinese accent, "Drop the guns, or he dies."

They complied, and from his behavior, I guessed he didn't know I was his target, otherwise he probably wouldn't be treating me like this. He pushed me to the ground and unzipped my backpack, pulling out the roughly 5 kilogram black cylinder inside it. I turned around, watching his preoccupation of trying to open it. A gunshot rang out, followed by his face contorting in pain as a high caliber round tore through his shoulder; sending him tumbling off the bridge into the Thames, bringing the container with him.

"_NO!_" I screamed, trying to go in after it, but one of the soldiers held me back, "_Get the fuck off of me! Do you even realize what that was?! I NEED to get it back!_"

The soldier had a steel grip on me, despite my struggling, there's no way I would've gotten him off of me. He waited until I was more calmed before beginning to talk to me, "There, you calm now?" He waited until I nodded before continuing, "Alright, tell us, what was in that container."

I hesitated before speaking, this was considered classified information. _Fuck it_, I thought, _these people have lost far too much for them to not even know what they've lost for._ I cleared my throat, and began to explain it to them.

Voice Recorder in Lab 4b- Berlin

**Two years and a half years after the Siege of London**

"_Today is… May seventeenth, twenty-thirty four. Blood analysis shows spores are present in the affected patient. However, spores are not present in re-oxygenation of blood cells as they pass through the circulatory system. In fact, there is no evidence of any growth inside the circulatory system of the patient. The patient has been bitten for two weeks, with no symptoms of CBI present. Patient has had no psychotic episodes and remains in control of motor functions. The clove inside the brain cavity has shown no independent growth, instead, it seems to only grow with the infected patient. This shows that it is not aggressive like the previous strain. What my colleagues in America have discovered… they discovered something I did not know about the Second Strain: that it does not begin an exponential growth on live tissue. It waits until the cells it is attached to die before it grows. Uses the dead cells as fertilizer, in a sense. This… I've never thought this would be possible. An entire clove could be grown from a single dead skin cell. Dammit, why haven't I gotten any responses to my attempts at contacting them?"_


	9. Chapter 8- Breathless

**A/N: I'm sorry for how long this chapter is. I did not mean for it to get this long, but I just got in the mood to write, and no places I could've ended it seemed right for what I wanted from this chapter.**

Chapter 8: Breathless

_Present Day_

Brandon- Wyoming

_What the FUCK have I just done?_

I may have just ended the one thing that meant more than life itself to me. I tore off my gas mask, I don't know why, and began CPR; desperate to get my little girl breathing again. Hot tears began falling down my face when a man with dirty blonde kicked me off her. Not from pain, but because I couldn't try to save my baby when I was pinned down, having the shit beaten out of me. I managed to push him off of me and scramble back to her, the only thing I gave a damn about in that time was forcing breath back into her. I whimpered when I began CPR again; she was turning cold and her heartbeat had faded.

I began to plead with her, "C'mon… please don't do this to me. Please, come back to me, Cass. C'mon, don't die on me. Not like this… you're not fucking dying on me like this after all we went through little girl. After all I've done to find you. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it… please, don't do this," I looked up at the old man I was about to kill earlier, he was staring at me, confused by my change in behavior and holding his chin. The girl I had restrained figured out a way to get one of the restraints off, and was working on getting her other hand free. The man who attacked me a minute ago looked lost. I was getting pissed at them being idle like this, I yelled at them, "What the fuck are you doing?! _FUCKING HELP HER!_"

They sprang into action a few seconds after that. The older man looked to the younger one, and ordered, "Tommy run ahead and tell Emilia or Clyde to get a room ready for Alyssa and Casey," He looked at me through a glare that seemed to be a more proper fit on his face than the confused look from a second ago, "You… you have some serious explaining to do." He cut the restraints off the girl who I'm guessing is Alyssa, while the younger man took off running. He told me to pick up Casey and follow him and Alyssa to their camp. I complied, picking her up carefully, then running as fast as I could while following them. She used him as support more than she walked by herself, despite insisting she could.

As we jogged/sprinted to our destination, I heard parts of what they were talking about through my preoccupation with the dying girl in my hands.

"Do you know who he is?"

"No, just some fucking Tracker…"

"...and what happened with…"

"...tortured the poor kid to…"

"Did he try to…"

"Oh, God no. He never made a…"

"... Did he tell you why he wanted to find Jackson?"

"No, but I can guess the reason now. I thought the picture duct taped to his arm was his wife or something."

I wanted to say something, but I couldn't. My voice wouldn't work, not like it'd matter, anyways. Instead, I looked down at the girl in my arms. _My little girl…_ after two and half years of wading through hell, I found her. But, this wasn't the joyous reunion I wanted; or the one she deserved. I tried to kill my daughter. I did the one thing I swore to Hannah I'd never do. I hurt our daughter. If these people want to kill me after what I did to the girl- Alyssa- and that boy… I'm not going to resist if Casey dies.

Maria- Wyoming

About ten minutes after Tommy came through, Joel and Alyssa were at the gate of the dam. Behind them, a man who looked to be about the same age as Joel, just with less gray in his hair was carrying an almost dead Casey in his arms. I heard him growl at Earl, the person outside the gate who was trying to take her from him, but I couldn't hear what he said. Whatever it was, had the cause the man wanted, because Earl backed off and let him in. I ran down off of the wall to meet them. I cringed when I saw how bad of condition Alyssa was in, "Alyssa, what the hell happened to you?" her response was a simple nod in the direction of the man holding Casey. Now that I was closer to him, I could see he was covered in blood with various degrees of freshness. I'm going to need to find out more about this man, soon. I told/shouted at him, "Come on, hospital's this way!"

Ellie- Wyoming

I watched curiously as Kyle, one of the town's doctors, quickly pushed a cart full of medical supplies into an empty room. I became worried when I noticed it was marked as an emergency room. "What's going on? Who's been hurt?" I inquired.

"They found Alyssa and Ben," He grunted in response, "They were too late for Ben, but Alyssa is alive, but hurt badly. This room isn't for her, though."

"Who's it for, then?"

"They got in a fight with somebody when they got there, the person who killed Ben," He said, seemingly ignoring my question. He paused before adding, "Apparently, he clocked your father in the jaw pretty hard."

"Who's the room for?" I asked, a little more forcefully. Somehow, I doubt a punch to the jaw would be cause for almost anybody to be in emergency condition, especially Joel.

He looked at me and started to say something, but his attention was pulled towards the front door as Joel opened the door, Alyssa leaning on him. Damn, she looked horrible, blood had been sprayed on her shirt and was trickling out of her forehead and mouth. Other than that, her left leg was leaning at an awkward angle, and she was covered in bruises. A second later, Maria took the door, and held it open for a middle-aged man wearing an unsettling amount of white. From the amount of blood he was covered in, and the spray on the side of his mouth, his green eyes had a sickened or horrified look in them as well, I would've guessed it was him the room was for; if it wasn't for him walking, well, normally and for the girl hanging limply in his arms. I could tell she was Casey right away.

Except for the bloody footprint on her face and a trickle of blood coming out of the bridge of her nose, she was incredibly pale; even for her. Kyle tried taking her from whoever this man was, but he pulled her towards him. He spoke in a deep, hoarse voice, "I'm not letting go of her until she's in her room." Kyle shrugged and led him into the room he wheeled the medical cart into. A second later, Kyle and the man were arguing before he stepped out and the door closed.

I looked over to Joel, who was putting a gauze pad on his busted lip and asked, "Who the hell is he? What happened to Casey?"

Joel looked down at me and back at the man, who was no sitting down next to the door with his hand on the back of his head staring down at the floor. Joel looked back at me and said, "Remember when Casey told us her father had died?"

"Yeah…?"

"Well, I'm thinkin' she was wrong."

It took me a second too long to figure out what Joel meant, "Oh…"

"For your other question…" He started the sentence, but got irritated with Casey's father sitting there, doing nothing. "Are you really just fucking sitting there? After what you've done to your daughter and to Alyssa, _THIS_ is what you do?"

Casey's father looked up at Joel with as convincing of a _don't fuck with me _glare that he could manage in his state, "Please… just leave me alone," he said weakly, but in a tone that said he meant it.

_Wait, he's the one who did this?_ I thought, mostly confused, while pretending to read a medical book sitting on a table. Sure, he was covered in blood, but he didn't seem physically capable of overpowering two well-fed adults, especially Alyssa or Joel. He was too frail looking, too thin.

He had only pissed Joel off more. He grabbed the guy and pulled him up snarling at him, "You possibly just killed your own daughter, and you want to be left alone? If I- if _anydecent _father- was in the position you are in right now, we would be begging to do anything at all possible that could save our child's life," Joel noticed me staring at them and visibly relaxed before growling at him in a barely audible voice, "I guess you wouldn't want to save her life, though. After all, you fucking abandoned her, right?"

The man's eyes lost their traumatized look and became as hard as flint. He grabbed Joel's arm and pulled it off of him while kneeing him, he used the time he got from doing this to get behind Joel and body slam him into the wall. He then threw Joel down and kicked him several times in the ribs, I cringed when I saw the dried blood crusted on his boots revealing steel, he stomped on Joel's side before he got the chance to roll away. Joel screamed in agony and I realized Casey's father hit him where he got impaled. I tried to separate them, but he just shouldered me away while getting on top of Joel, grabbing his neck in one hand and hitting him in the face with the other. He shouted at Joel through clenched teeth and between punches, "_Don't… you… EVER… fucking… say… I don"t… care… about my… daughter you… fucking… worthless… dog!_"

Joel caughthis fist and balled his other hand into a fist before punching the man in the area between his eye and nose. He fell off of Joel, and Joel took the chance to stomp on his arm before kicking him in the chin, a spray of blood shot out of his mouth and Joel got in the same position Casey's father was in and began hitting him. I tried to get Joel off, but he pushed me away and flipped the guy over and smashed his face into the ground twice. Joel lifted the man's head up and looked into his eyes before shouting, "Are you done?!"

The man spat in Joel's face, blinding him with blood before grabbing Joel's face, forcing his thumb into his left eye. Joel screamed again as he fell to the ground, the man climbing on top of him, and started trying to pry his eye out. Joel punched him off, stood up, clutching his eye socket, and began kicking him in the stomach and head. I started shouting at Joel and pushed him away, "Hey! Hey! Hey! Don't kill the fucking man, Joel!"

Maria came in and began to help Casey's father up, only to hold him back when he tried to lunge at Joel, who was trying to get by me and start fighting again. Casey's father started shouting at Maria, though he was mostly incoherent by now, "Wet go huff me, bidch! I'm naught finhished whith thuh thucker yhet!"

Joel and him started shouting at each other and trying to break free so they can get back to killing each other. I vaguely heard Kyle, but he wasn't loud enough for us to hear him, until he shouted at a volume very few people can reach, "_HEY!_" We looked over at him, and I don't think I've ever seen anybody so pissed before. Except, probably these two. He calmed down and started to speak in a lower voice, "Are you two insane? What the fuck is this all about?" He waited for an answer, showing it wasn't rhetorical.

I was the first to speak, "Joel accused him-"

"Bwandhuhn," He interrupted, I'm pretty sure he meant to say 'Brandon' though.

"Joel accused Brandon of not caring about Casey, and that he abandoned her," Joel shot me a glare, but I could care less. As far as I could tell, this was all Joel.

"Well, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but this is kind of a hospital, so there are people here who could do with some quiet. So, if you don't mind, could you either stop fighting and lick your wounds or take this outside," He looked over to Brandon, "You'll be happy to know that I managed to get your daughter breathing again. She's got a collapsed lung and four broken ribs; her cheekbone and nose are broken," He paused before saying, "We might need to put her in a medically induced coma while she's starting to heal. Otherwise, she's going to be in a lot of pain and possibly cause more damage."

Brandon fell back into a chair and started to cry. I heard him whimpering, "Oh, God… what have I done?" I felt sorry for him, so I went over to him and put a hand on his back to try and comfort him. He looked over at me without taking his hands away from his face, tears were running through his fingers and the blood and cuts covering his face. When he decided I wasn't a threat at that moment, he went back to crying.

Kyle just talked in a deadpan tone to Brandon, "Relax, she's going to be fine," I hated that about him and Emilia, neither of them try to help the people who are close to the person in danger. I felt a little more annoyed that he'd talk like that to my…

…

I honestly don't know what she is to me.


	10. Chapter 9- End of the Seige

**A/N: About halfway through the chapter, translations stop since I've decided they're too much work when only one language is being used.**

Chapter 9: End of the Siege

_Five years ago_

Vasily- London

… I pinned the Chinese soldier under my knee before grabbing him underneath the jaw and forced him to look at me while I put the curved blade of my kukri against his neck. I pulled the knife towards me and opened up a long red line on his neck. I heard somebody scream behind me, so I turned around to see Hammond, the German soldier I found an hour ago, pinning a short Korean soldier against a wall and jamming a kabar into his stomach repeatedly before throwing him to the ground and kicking off his gas mask. I grinned at him through the clear plastic of my gas mask. The guy was a fucking marksman with a G36, and he was effective in close quarters. He also obeyed a superior officer without question. I could've used more soldiers like him.

He looked at me and asked, "Vy khorosho, Vasiliy ?" (You good, Vasily?)

"Da, ya v poryadke,"(Yeah, I'm good.) I told him, confused why he asked until I noticed a small crack on the corner of my gas mask. "svyatoye der'mo," I muttered, "Chto bylo blizko" (holy shit, that was close) I held my breath and replaced my gas mask with one that only exposed the wearer's eyes. I put down my empty rifle and picked up the carbine the Chinese soldier was carrying with him.

I ordered Hammond to move out before my radio radio sparked to life, "_Vasiliy, ty zdes'? Pozhaluysta, otvet'te nemedlenno._" (Vasily, are you there? Please, respond immediately.) I started to grin at the concern in my sister's voice. She knew I'd be fine, I've been in these situations more than a couple times.

"YA v poryadke admiral . Radio poteryali svyaz. Kakov status kitayskoy flota?" (I'm alright Admiral. Radio lost connection. What's the status of the Chinese fleet?) I responded after deciding it would be cruel to ignore her.

"_O, slava bogu , chto ty zhiv . Kitayskaya flot byl vyvezen , my zhdem na otstavshikh , chtoby dobrat'sya do tochki evakuatsii ._" (Oh, thank god you're alive. The Chinese fleet has been taken out, we're waiting on the stragglers to get to the evacuation points.) )

I looked over to Hammond, but he'd already run up to small group of soldiers, a civilian, an infected woman that miraculously wasn't attacking anybody; but simply staring at something unseen, and a man in a dirty lab coat I assumed was Doctor Groves that were at the Thames evac point. I noticed one of the soldiers twitch, and realize he was restrained. He was infected. The Doctor asked Hammond who I was, and appeared to be taken aback slightly, but I don't think he remembers me.

We had waited only about twenty minutes in a tense silence before Russian and German RHIB boats sailed right next to the dock. Hammond bent down to get the infected off the ground and pull him to the German one, but I was faster. When I put it in the Russian one, he demanded to know what I was doing.

"My vypolnili svoyu chast' soglasheniya , eto vash chast'yu," I informed him, "Vy ne yedinstvennymi, imeyushchimi problemy s kitaytsami, vy znayete." (We fulfilled our part of the agreement, this is your part of it. You aren't the only ones having trouble with the Chinese, you know.) His eyes dawned a look of sickened horror as he realized what I just said.

Sergeant Hammond- Berlin

I pushed through the door to the prime minister's office, barrelling past the guards in the process. I stormed over to his desk and slammed my hands on it, snapping him out of whatever he was day-dreaming about. I roared in anger at him, furious he would authorize this, "_YOU GAVE THE _RUSSIANS _OVER TWO-THOUSAND OF OUR OWN MEN?!_"

Two-thousand one-hundred and fifty four to be exact. That's how many men got infected in London. How many men who have been reduced to nothing more than test subjects. We lost the actual cure somewhere in city, so if the Russians do what I think they're doing; we're defenseless against them. Augustus looked up at me and sighed, "If I had any other choice, don't you think I would've taken it?"

I calmed down considerably by the time he stopped speaking. I told him in a much calmer voice than I anticipated, "They're weaponizing the cordyceps and going to fucking _use_ it! Don't you even care about the Geneva Con-"

"The Geneva Convention died with the initial outbreak!" he snapped, "As long as we're on good terms with Russia, we're fine. That doesn't mean I like what they want to do to the Chinese, but we're having trouble with them, and this is a way of getting them off our asses."

I just became more disgusted than anything by his dismissal of it, "I don't think you quite understand, sir. _Millions of innocent lives are in danger because of you_!"

"Well, soldier what did you want me to do? Surrender Groves to the Chinese? Or do you want me to declare _war_ on the only country completely untouched by the cordyceps, and now holds the most dangerous bio-weapon ever dreamed of? And yes, I know civilians will die because of my choice, but nothing else I could've done," He`growled, "So, unless you have anymore criticisms, you're dismissed."

I was about to say something, but decided against it. On my way out, I remembered something I wanted to ask him, "Sir, do you remember anybody by the name of Vasily Aristov?"

Augustus thought for a second before answering, "Yeah… the name sounds familiar. Brother of Admiral Anastasiya, and a former general of the Russian army. Why?"

"I met a Russian Lieutenant Colonel while in London named Vasily Aristov. His name was familiar but I couldn't place it."

The color drained prime minister's face before I even finished the sentence, "He's still in the military? Fuck! The Russian President told the UN he'd be kicked out."

"Sir, what did he do?"

"Does the name Sahara Storm ring a bell?"

"Yeah… it was a Russian military campaign from the Middle East to Ghana in an attempt to wipe out any traces of CBI in the area. It is considered the bloodiest post-outbreak conflict yet. The Russian military had forced civilians into labor camps or forced them to fight against their own governments, executed thousands for so much as coughing, burned every village they came across to the ground, leaving many without homes or food. In Egypt and Morocco, they leveled the entire countries and forced the survivors into slave labor. The Russian military had also dropped atomic bombs on half Ghana, turning almost the entire country into a radioactive wasteland. The campaign was led by General-" I cut off as the realization hit me. General Vasily Aristov, the orchestrator of the worst war in modern conflict.

And we just handed him the deadliest weapon humanity has ever known.


	11. Chapter 10- Casey

**A/N: How are you liking the story so far? I honestly do not know how many more chapters are left, but I am going to be making a third part. If you're wanting to influence the story in any way, have a question, or have some constructive criticisms for me, I would really appreciate it if you left a review for me. Fair warning, sexual content in the next chapter.**

Chapter 10: Casey

_Present Day_

Brandon- Wyoming

It took these people three days to convince me to get out of the hospital. Even then, I'm still there about seven hours a day. The rest of the time, I'm usually at the house they gave Casey and I once she's out. They told me she'll probably spend a couple days with her foster parents, Tommy, the younger man who kicked me off of Casey when we were first 'reunited', and his wife Maria, the blonde in her early forties that showed me the way to the hospital when I first arrived, before she's been put back in my custody.

The house is nothing special, just a single floor building with faded white and green paint. The carpet of the house was stained and the wallpaper was peeling off. But except for that and a broken window, the house was in exceptional condition. Definitely a lot better than what I imagined Casey and I would settle down to, especially since the town had running water and electricity; both things were a luxury I could seldom afford even before the world fell apart. I was a child in a very poor family, my mom was a sadistic shitbag and my dad was a spineless weasel. Both of them had two thing in common: their love of the bottle, and a terrifying crack binge. I had to learn how to defend us from a very young age, and I got into dealing heroin just to pay for a fucking sandwich by the time I was fourteen. Hell, I still tense up and brace to get hit from the smell of alcohol. I've pretty much just drifted from place to place ever since I turned eighteen.

I was brought back to reality when somebody knocked on the door. I started to shout that I was coming when the knocking continued, but I winced as my head started pounding. Joel, the person who I beat the shit out of, really fucked my head up in that fight. I was surprised to find it was him at the door. Understandably, he and I haven't been on the best of terms the past couple days. He wasn't in much better condition than I was. The biggest feature was an eyepatch over his left eye while it healed. I flinched inside when I remembered the sense of satisfaction I got from almost pulling his eye out. He had peace treaty in the form of a whisky bottle, one of the brands untainted by unpleasant memories. I gave him a curt nod and motioned for him to come in. He started to speak in a voice that was gravelly by his accent and pain, "I've been thinking the past couple of days, and what I said was uncalled for," he paused before adding, "and I'd like to apologize for it."

I pulled out a shot glass, and made a gesture asking if he wanted one, which he accepted. While pouring each of us a shot, I started to talk, "I should probably apologize as well. My actions were a little, ah… brash." I handed him one of the filled glasses.

He smirked before drinking the shot in one gulp,"No, they were justified. If anybody told me the shit I told you, I'd have the exact same reaction. I don't know of any father-"

I laughed bitterly before he even finished the sentence, "My father wouldn't. He was too much of a coward. He never tried to stop my mom from beating my sister and I," He looked like he wanted to pry, but decided against it. So, I continued to talk, "You shouldn't apologize, though. I know it looks like I had abandoned her." I finished my drink, put my hands on the table, and in a much more serious tone, said, "I just want to make one thing clear: I love my daughter. Every night for the past two and a half years, I cried myself to sleep, that is if I even slept, because I had no idea if she was safe or not. Everything I've done… all the people I've hurt and killed… all that has been to become reunited with her."

Joel looked at me for a long time before saying, "You've been separated for two and a half years? Damn, how in the hell did that happen?"

"I'll just say this, I made a stupid mistake while trying to get to a vantage point in an abandoned Quarantine Zone."

He had an understanding look, telling me that he probably had a similar experience with post-outbreak cities. I began to pour us each another shot, to which he declined, I shrugged and asked him if he had any kids, "Ellie… but she's not my biological child. I'm more of her guardian, I guess," He replied, sounding hesitant, like he didn't want to admit they weren't related.

Unsure of what to say next, I downed my second drink. I decided to just ask him how Casey arrived at Jackson. The sad look in his eyes told me that it was probably something I didn't want to hear, but I asked him again in a more forceful voice.

He sighed and looked down at his hands, "Ellie and I were on a patrol down by the river about six months ago. We found two bodies, both men. They were at least three days old and, despite the exposure, you could still see what killed them. One of the men had a broken knife blade stuck in what _used_ to be their face, but was pretty much just pulp by that point. The other one had a small bite mark on the jugular, but the bite had gone through where it hit, leaving a hole there," I could already tell where this was going. Right to my biggest fear, "Ellie spotted your daughter curled up in a ball, her head hidden by her arms. The jacket she was wearing had been partially unbuttoned and partially ripped off, along with the t-shirt she had underneath it," I was getting sick listening to him, "She looked up at Ellie and I, there was so much blood on her face, mostly around her mouth and cheek. She had been crying, tears had run through the blood, and if she wasn't moving, I could've mistaken her for a corpse from the look in her eyes and how… sick she looked. She was about to tell us her name, but she broke down and just cried into Ellie's chest and begging us to take her away from there, and, I'm certain you can find out what happened from there yourself."

I nodded solemnly. There was nothing I could say. I fucking failed as a father. How could I of been so stupid as to let a couple of Hunters take her away from me? I looked up at him and asked in as strong of a voice I could manage, which was still trembling, "Did… did they rape her?"

He shook his head, "No, she killed them before they had a chance to do anything like that."

Kyle- Wyoming

I looked down at the girl on the bed. She's been here for almost a week now, no longer needing to be kept under at all times so she can safely recover. She was reading a copy of _'__Charlotte's Web'_. I was surprised when Maria came in with the book in great condition, even more so when I found she could read it. I called her name once, but she was too enraptured by the book. I said her name a little more loudly, causing her to look up. _Her face is so perfect,_ I could hear the voice in the back of my head speak like it was another person. I ignored it and told her, "Sorry, kid, but it's time I give you your morphine shot so you don't have any pain tonight."

She sighed, the sound sparked an uncomfortable reaction from me, "Alright," she said, while dog-earring the page she was on. While I was filling up a syringe, I was fighting with myself.

_Come on, you know how empty this place gets at night._

_No, I'm not doing that to her._

_How long has it been? How long since you've had sex?_

_She's a fifteen year old girl. I'm forty-two. _

_That didn't stop you in the past, did it?_

_You saw what her father did to Joel and Alyssa._

_He doesn't need to find out._

_She'll just blurt it out the second she gets the chance._

_She won't know who did it, just give her a slightly larger dose than usual. Blindfold and gag her, too, just to be safe._

_No. End of story._

_You know that it isn't._

_I'm not going to do this._

_You know you just want to get inside her, and you will eventually, so you better listen to me so you don't fuck up. She's practically begging you to, from how much she trusts you._

_You've seen the way she looks at Ellie, the girl's a dyke, no way she's begging a man to fuck her._

_That'll make it more fun. Look, just once, and you won't hear this again._

… _Promise?_

_Look, I'm not a different person, I'm still you, you don't need to promise to yourself._

I looked down at the syringe in the bottle of morphine. It was at the normal dosage, just a little more, and she could sleep through a stampede. Or more realistically, having somebody on top of her, playing with her unconscious body. I sighed, and filled the syringe with a milliliter more of the painkiller.


	12. Chapter 11- Fear

**A/N: As you can probably guess from the end of the last chapter, there is going to be rape in this chapter. If you're not a fan of stories that include this, then I suggest you don't read this chapter. But, I strongly recommend you read it since an important part of the plot happens.**

Chapter 11: Fear

_Present Day_

Casey- Wyoming

_I tried to crawl away from the heavy mass on top of me, but the pain in my side wouldn't allow it. I wanted to cry for help, but they had shoved some type of rag in my mouth and blindfolded me. _

_Whoever this man was buried his face between my head and chest, causing my neck to itch from his facial hair, and began to just attack my neck with his lips. He gently bit it, sending a shudder through my body. He slowly moved one of his hands up and down my bare leg, and slid his other hand under my tank top and started to pull it up, stopping when his hand was at my chest. He pulled his hand out and lifted my tank top over my chest. I tried to push him off of me, but I couldn't pull my arms out from above my head, there was some type of belt keeping my hands tied against the bedpost. His head disappeared for a second, until I felt its weight on my left breast. He pulled up for a second, just to pull my legs apart. I was braced to feel the pain I've all but forgotten these past few years, but it still hurt going in. The only thing worse than the pain was the violation and vulnerability. He put his hand on my healing ribs, probably on accident; but it still sent a bolt of pain through me, causing a muffled cry to escape and my knee went into his stomach reflexively. He grunted in pain before grabbing my face and spitting in it. I only cried harder after that, mainly from disgust._

_A voice hissed at me, too low to figure out who it was, "If you shut the fuck up, I'll finish faster, and we can get this over with, ok?"_

_I nodded, still crying into the blindfold. His statement still didn't prevent me from struggling, however hopeless. I gave up on trying to get the belt off when I felt blood trickling down my arms. He brushed one hand up and down my arm, hitting a ticklish area and causing a mix of laughter and a whimper to escape through the gag. He let a low chuckle out before whispering, "Yeah, you liked that, didn't you?" I shook my head, but he didn't care, he just kept brushing his fingers against that area and cooing while a terrified laugh mixed in with my crying, "I think you're lying to me. I think you're enjoying this. Tell me, have you ever taken it up the ass?" _

_I began to try and kick him off me and let out a terrified scream, hoping it got through the gag. He just started laughing and petting my hair like a cat, "What am I saying? Of cour-"_

_He was interrupted by a voice I recognized as Ellie's, _"What the fuck!?"

I was shocked awake by the sound of a gunshot.

Ellie- Wyoming

I sat at the desk across from the four emergency/recovery rooms, counting the number of bullets in the revolver I had with me for the fifteenth time; they weren't real, just blanks meant to stun a person long enough for somebody to restrain them. I checked the clock which somehow still worked. 3:19 AM, just a couple more hours until my shift is over and I can go home. I was contemplating reading the issue of Savage Starlight I brought to help with the boredom for the sixth time, until I heard Casey scream. I jumped out of my chair, grabbed the revolver, and ran to the door. I pushed the door open, and was horrified at what I saw. Doctor Kyle was on top of her while she was almost completely naked and blindfolded and gagged, struggling to get out from under him. Her wrists were bloody and tied to the bedpost with a belt. I screamed, "What the fuck?!" at him before shooting him in the shoulder. I ran over to him and put the handcuffs I had on my waist on his wrists before turning back to Casey. I started to take the blindfold off, which turned out to be a washcloth; but she freaked out at the touch, twisting her body in a way that caused her ribs to hurt, making her cry out in pain. I had to speak to her to get calmed down. "Casey, it's alright. It's me, Ellie. He's not gonna hurt you anymore, alright." She started to breathe more easily as I talked to her, though still ragged after her ordeal. I spoke softly to her while pulling her tank top back down, "I'm going to take the blindfold off, ok?"

She nodded while I undid the knot in the back and pulled off the blindfold. Her eyes were glazed and red from tears, pain, and morphine. I took the gag out, almost vomiting when I realized they were her boxers. She started to speak in a trembling, sniffly voice, "W-was it r-re-real?" I looked down at her while I undid the belt around her wrists and nodded sadly. She started to shiver violently, and became mute every time she tried to something.

I looked back up at the sound of footsteps, and saw Isaac, a person who was on guard duty by the medicine cabinets run to the doorway. He shouted at first, but got quieter when he realized what happened, "What the hell happened?! Who's hu- oh, shit…"

I looked at Kyle, who was struggling on the floor to get out of the handcuffs, and said to Isaac, "Can you take him to Tommy's? I want him to know one of the emergency doctors is a child molester before the law gets a hold of him."

"Yeah, sure thing," He replied, "What are you going to do?"

I looked back at him and said, "I'm going to get her cleaned up, then see what she can tell me." I waited until he pretty much dragged Kyle out of there before speaking to Casey, who'd now covered the half of her body with the sheets. She was cowering from something unseen and trembling uncontrollably. I gently put my hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch but come back to reality. I cleared my throat and asked her, "Would you rather get cleaned up here, or-"

"I-I-I j-jus just w-want to g-go away," She hiccupped while interrupting. I nodded while quietly saying okay. I tossed her a new pair of boxers and the gray cargo pants she was wearing when she first came in. I put on her jacket before we went out into the first snows that had fallen. She leaned into me, shivering, but not from the cold I'm guessing. Finally, she whimpered, "I th-thought I-I w-was s-safe h-here."

I pulled her closer before saying, "You are safe here. While we can't stop sick people from being sick, we have laws that punish them, and people here to help keep everybody as safe as possible. Jackson is the safest place you could possibly be."

She waited while a tremor shook her tiny frame until speaking and leaned into me a little more, I guess speaking isn't the right word, more like mewling, "P-promise?"

I turned to look at her since we were on my porch, I looked down at my feet, bit my bottom, and then looked back at her and said, "I promise."

No sooner than when the words left my mouth, did I feel her lips brush softly against mine.

Tommy- Wyoming

I punched the wall. I was infuriated with myself for not seeing what Kyle was sooner, and I fucking gave him a victim. I sat back down in the chair, but got up to punch him in the face when he avoided eye contact. I shouted at him, "What the fuck is wrong with you!" I didn't want an answer, I wanted him to pay for what he did.

He spoke in a shaky voice, "I'm sorry, sir, I tru-"

I cut him off with a punch before yelling, "Bullshit! You're only sorry you got caught!"

I sat back down and let Maria take over while I vented. She had a hard tone, but calmly said, "You know how the law works here."

He dumbly said, "Yeah, I know, two years in the Pen with another year of outside work duty."

Maria looked at me before leaning forward in her chair, and spoke to him again, "No, that's for convicted rape. What's the punishment for child molestation?"

His face went bone white, "Please don't, please don't you fucking do that to me," He pleaded. I knew Kyle remembered. The punishment for child molestation is left up to the child's parents decision. In this case, the only living parent of the child was a self-admitted psychopath and torturer who was incredibly devoted to his daughter.

I spoke before Maria could, "Sorry, but we can't make a special case for you. You're at Brandon's mercy starting tomorrow."


	13. Chapter 12- Scars

**A/N: Please review for this chapter. I'm really wanting to know what you think of the relationship of Casey and Ellie, or hear what constructive criticisms you have about the story so far, since I'm going to start the next part as soon as this one is done (whenever that is). **

Chapter 12: Scars

_Present Day_

Casey- Wyoming

I looked away from her as soon as I kissed her. My ears were burning in shame and embarrassment. I was still swimming in the haze brought on by the morphine, I didn't know what I just did until it was too late. _Please Ellie, just say something,_ I thought panickedly, all she was doing was standing there. I just stood there too, sniffling and shaking, partly from the cold, and partly from what Kyle just did to me. Finally, she spoke up, "Let's… uh… let's get you cleaned up, alright."

"Okay," I responded quietly. With that, we went inside and she brought me upstairs to the bathroom and started the water in the tub.

"Do you want to be left alone?" She asked. I'm not sure why she did ask, I mean, I doubt she'd stay in here with me. Still, I shook my head. I really didn't want to be alone right now. She just nodded and sat down. She still looked away as I got undressed and stepped into the tub.

As it turned out, 'cleaning up' meant me sitting in the bathtub, curled up in a ball shivering while silent tears rolled down my cheeks. I felt more violated than anything. At least It had never fucked me when I was asleep, or blindfolded and gagged me. After my trembling stopped, Ellie pulled the plug and let the water drain before stepping out. She came back in carrying a T-shirt and a pair of striped pajama pants, she set them down and told me to change into them when I was ready to leave.

My thoughts drifted back to that kiss. I was struggling deciding whether I meant it to be platonic or not. Will Ellie hate me for it? I hope not, she's my only friend. I decided I'd just figure it out when I was less tired, got changed and wrapped my wrists, and went downstairs to see Ellie sitting on the couch. I sighed, knowing we'd have to talk about what I just did. I went downstairs and sat on the couch right next to her. I looked down at my hands, thinking of how to apologize when I felt her hand gently rest on my thigh, the unexpected touch would usually have scared me; especially after what just happened to me. But, with Ellie being the one to touch me, it felt calming enough to quiet my sniffling. She wrapped her other hand on my head, and pulled me closer to her, running her fingers through my hair. I wasn't thinking about apologizing at this point, I didn't think it was needed.

I felt her soft lips pressing against my forehead, sending a something I've never felt before through my body. After a second of being in that position; she pulled back and reached into her backpack. I let out a gasp of excitement when she pulled an issue of Savage Starlight that we haven't read yet. I kicked my legs onto the couch and moved in closer while she turned to the first page and began to read aloud. Ellie knew I could read now, but we both enjoyed reading the comics in this fashion.

I suddenly began to feel exhausted, but the morphine worked its way out of my system, so I wouldn't be sleeping easily. Not like I would anyways. I don't care, though, I'm never willingly taking it again. I shut my eyes and drifted off into sleep while listening to Ellie continue the story of Daniela Star.

Joel- Wyoming

I came home around 4:15. I already was expecting to see Casey on the couch, Tommy told me she'd be spending the night at my house. Poor kid, I think very few people can truly understand what she's gone through. Then… _this_ happened to her. Kyle deserved whatever Brandon would do to him.

I wasn't expecting to see Ellie sleeping on the couch with her. She was resting her head in one hand, leaning against the arm of the couch. Casey was curled up in a ball underneath one of her arms, holding Ellie's other hand with both of hers. I felt the corners of my mouth twitch and form a small smile after seeing the open comic on that fell to the floor and the peaceful look on Casey's face. For some reason, she's been allowed a much needed night of peaceful sleep before her demons came back with a vengeance. I bookmarked the page they were on before they fell asleep and set the comic on the coffee table before brushing a few strands of Casey's black hair out of her face, causing some muscle tick in the process. I gave Ellie a quick kiss on the forehead before whispering, "Goodnight, baby girl," to her. I walked upstairs to go to bed, pausing to look back down at those two and smile again. I'm not really all that surprised, I could tell that they weren't going to be 'just friends' pretty much since they first met.

Ellie- Wyoming

I woke up to the smell of cooking. I was confused for a second, Joel usually wakes me up in the morning. I remembered what happened when I felt Casey's steady breathing on my legs. I looked down to see her head rest on my lap and holding my hand that was still draped around her neck. Surprisingly, she was sleeping peacefully. I'm not sure if it's from pure exhaustion or a combination of the morphine that worked its way out her system by now, and the mental toll her ordeal had taken on her that she was too tired to have a nightmare.

I carefully lifted her head off my lap and set it down gently on the faded green couch cushion, not wanting to wake her up. I went over to the kitchen where Joel was cooking what smelled like sausage and eggs. He looked over at me when he noticed me standing in the doorway. I gestured to the couch to show she was still sleeping. He nodded and began to talk quietly, "Poor kid. She finds someplace in the world that tries to keep her safe, and it turns out that place turns into a nightmare for her."

I nodded sadly, I felt bad for her. Who knows what all she's had to go through to get to here, then this happened. According to her father, she's only known what happens on the outside. Almost fifteen years of living in that, how she's still sane is beyond me. Hell, I almost broke after a year of it. I sat down at the table, wondering what to say in response.

Joel saw how much I was affected by what he said and, thankfully, changed the subject, "So, who was the one to make the first move last night?"

I looked at him, and asked confused, "What do you mean?"

He gave a small chuckle, "You know what I mean, Ellie. I saw you and Casey cuddling while you both were fast asleep this morning."

I understood what he meant now, I smiled sheepishly before saying, "I don't know. She kissed me before we came inside, but I'm not sure if it was platonic or not. After she got cleaned up and bandaged her wrists, she came downstairs and sat in silence for a minute before I pulled her into almost the position we were in; deciding that it wasn't just a 'friend kiss', possibly for the both us. I kissed her forehead before pulling out a new issue of one of the comics we've been reading together. We fell asleep while reading it."

Joel gave a slight grin while preparing a plate of the sausage and eggs for us and said, "Well, sounds as if it was her that made the first move. I really can't say I'm all that surprised, she's had a crush on you for a long time."

I blinked in surprise at that, remembering my own crush on Riley. I thought for a second before I realized how awkward she'd been around me, and her attempts to impress me always seemed adorable. I gave a slight laugh, her behavior was incredibly similar to how I acted around Riley, "Yeah, I guess it _was_ pretty obvious."

Casey- Wyoming

I could hear Joel and Ellie talking through my haze of sleep. The pain in my ribs and lower abdomen woke me up fully. I sat up, grunting in pain, my head was pounding, it usually is after I wake up from my morphine-induced sleep. The smell of cooked sausage reminded me how hungry I was. I stood up, clutching my stomach in one hand and hobbled over to the kitchen, surprising Ellie with a kiss on the cheek and saying good morning to Joel.

"Mornin'," He replied gruffly. He got up to make me a plate but I told him I'd do it. I sat down, holding my head in one hand and eating slowly. He looked at me with concern and asked, "You alright?"

"Fuckin' morphine," was all I needed to say. He nodded and asked if he could do anything to help. "No, thanks," I croaked in response, "It'll go away after I eat."

"No, that's… that's not what I meant," He replied. It took me a second to realize what he did mean.

"In that case, yeah, there is something you can do," I said quietly, "Make sure my dad doesn't kill him too slowly. I want him dead, but I don't want him to die by bleeding out over three days."

Joel nodded slowly, he knew my dad would probably do that, or worse. After knowing what Ellie went through a few years ago, and seeing me at my weakest, I wasn't surprised when she agreed.

After that, the conversation turned more light-hearted. Mostly, about what we'd be doing today Joel is on hunting patrol, I'm still out for recovery, and Ellie had a day off. After Joel finished eating and left, Ellie and I ate in silence. I looked over at her, still confused about last night.

She saw me looking at her and asked, "Do you like me?"

I looked away, ears burning, and nodded while saying meekly, "Yes, I-I like you,"

I felt her hand on my arm and she moved closer to me. She moved my head so I'd look at her, and said, "I like you, too." My heart leapt and relief washed over me when she said that. She wasn't mad at me, she wasn't even creeped out. She had similar feelings for me to the ones I had for her. I gave her a hug and kissed her, ignoring the pain in my ribs at the movement.


	14. Chapter 13- Expansion

Chapter 13: Expansion

_Present Day_

Chesapeake Bay

I sat in the barely repaired communications room of the wrecked destroyer. The radio doesn't work, only computer based communications are working, so I'm not even sure why this is a position on the ship that's to be protected. We'd do better with more people on the guns, which are actually operational. I sighed and took another puff from my cigarette. Well, at least this room is quiet. I was so deep in thought, I was pissed when the computer beeped. _Wait a minute… the computer beeped? My shift isn't over, is it?_ I checked, and sure enough, there was a message on screen, and not the usual one telling me my shift is over.

_Destroyer USS Nebraska, we are requesting permission to enter Potomac River._

My heart stopped. A boat was requesting permission to enter the river. Hands trembling, I sent a response, _This is the Federal Disaster Response Agency Destroyer USS Nebraska, who are you?_

_This is the Reihen and Titan. We will not ask again. Give us clearance to enter, and we will have a mutually beneficial relationship. Do not cooperate, and we will enter anyways. Make this easy on yourselves._

I tried my best to stay calm, but anybody with two functioning ships and can make these threats can probably carry them out. _State your business and I will send your request to my superiors._

_That is business between us and your superiors, not a grunt. We will wait for the response of them. You have twenty minutes before we make the decision for them._

I sent a message to DC, telling them they have twenty minutes to allow two ships into the river, or they will open fire. My blood had run cold for the fifteen minutes until the computer gave the message alert sound…

Stephen Miles- Washington DC

I nervously watched the hundreds, if not thousands, of soldiers unloading equipment ranging from weapons and rations; to LAVs and tanks. There were at least fifteen of a vehicle I haven't seen in years. Helicopters, most of them transport or scout, but some attack helicopters. I found myself thanking God we allowed them in without a fight. One man was barking orders at them in some incoherent language before motioning to a group of soldiers to follow him. He came over to us and shook hands with FEDRA director Ethan Rodgers, a person who is about forty-seven, but looked to be seventy. All of the soldiers were wearing a kevlar vest over white or camouflage jackets with the hoods pulled up over gas masks. The one who was introducing himself to Ethan was the only one not wearing a gas mask, but he had a ski mask on.

He turned to me and held out his hand for me to shake it. Nervously, I shook it, wincing in pain as he nearly broke it with his vice-like grip. After we introduced ourselves he pointed to the four soldiers, and introducing them. Karl Hammond didn't even nod in greeting, Boris Sfe was pretty friendly; but not that talkative, Darya Viktoriya was the only girl in the group and had a more hostile atmosphere than Karl, and finally, Inge Stein who greeted us but seemed rather bored by man got to himself, I had to strain slightly to hear him through his accent, "I am General Vasily Aristov of the European Union Cordyceps Response. We are here to negotiate whatever is necessary for a mutually beneficial relationship."

I wasn't certain if he was lying or not. I doubted that they really cared about us, otherwise they wouldn't have threatened us or brought an entire army here. Ethan smiled uneasily, probably thinking the same thing. The rest of the walk to the White House, a building I had no idea what the reason behind its existence, was in complete silence. They didn't protest when the people that were on guard duty at the building searched them, but they didn't seem too happy about being separated from their weapons.

Once the search was done and they were inside, Vasily and Ethan broke off from the rest of us and went into an office. I strained to hear them through the door, but their voices were muffled. I looked over at the other four newcomers, they were talking to each other quietly in a strange language. I asked Karl, the one closest to me, "What are you talking about?"

"He doesn't speak English," Inge informed me, "If you know German or Russian, he'll speak to you."

I raised my eyebrows, "What the hell is German or… Russian?" I pronounced the alien word uneasily.

Inge snorted amusedly, "How old were you when the outbreak started?"

I thought for a second then told him, "About two."

He nodded, "Alright, then your ignorance can be forgiven."

My attention turned towards the office when Vasily and an even more than usual defeated looking Ethan stepped out. Vasily ordered Jacob, one of the soldiers here, to give them back their weapons back; but he told him that they can't until they leave.

Ethan sighed and said, "Give them their weapons."

Jacob looked at him, his confusion reflecting on all the FEDRA soldiers in the entire room. "Sir, you know the rules, we can't just-"

Vasily gave a chuckle before saying, "He isn't your 'sir' anymore. He decided the best course of action is to allow a nation that wasn't destroyed by a fucking mushroom to start running things."

Jacob looked over at him and snapped, "What the hell are you talking about? Destroyed by a mushroom? Last I checked, you came over here, so things must be so bad on the other half of the world that this place is appealing."

He waved a hand dismissively and said, "We're only over here because we don't have enough land that's safe, and our nations are starving to death," He added, just for more weight he told us, "FEDRA's dead. You're under our command now. So, I will not ask again, _give us our weapons back._"

Jacob scoffed, "There's no chance in hell I'm giving the second A-" He was cut off by Vasily grabbing him by the shoulder, taking the kukri he gave to Jacob off his chest and pushing the blade between his ribs before slicing open his neck.

Vasily looked around the room that was stunned into silence except for Jacob's choking, then said, "Anymore people who want to be disobedient?"

When there were no takers, he looked at me and flatly stated, "Now, get our weapons. And, kindly open the gate to our allies."


	15. Chapter 14- The Chinese

Chapter 14: The Chinese

_Present Day_

Joel- Wyoming

I just stood there staring at the ground. There were fifteen bodies laying all around us. They all had their hands tied behind their backs and a gunshot to the back of their heads. There was one more thing they all had in common. Something that triggered an old wound to open up. I could hear her speaking as if she was right here, not dead. She hissed into my ear, only four words were clear enough to understand.

"_You can't save her…_"

Tommy- Wyoming

I looked over at Joel. He was visibly shaken by the scene in front of us. More so because they were Fireflies than since they were dead. No doubt he was remembering what happened in Salt Lake City three years ago. I called out to him, trying to get him to snap out of it. Of course, it didn't it work. I looked over at Brandon after two more failed attempts at calling him back to reality; he was checking their weapons and supplies.

If I didn't know what Kyle did to his daughter, I would've kicked him out of Jackson after his execution. I almost did, anyways. He kicked a twenty-five pound cinder block into the river that was tied to Kyle's feet. He drowned the man like that.

He turned towards me, tossing an AR-15 one of them was carrying and said, "Nothin' valuable is missing. Full clip, too." Finally, he noticed Joel's blank look, "What's wrong with him?"

"He has history with the Fireflies," I turned to look at Alyssa, who's remained quiet until now. It took a week and a half but, surprisingly, she forgave Brandon for torturing her. She's still wary of him, though.

"What's that su-"

He was cut off by an arm wrapping around his neck. I started to lift the AR-15 to my shoulder, when I felt an arm around my neck and the cold barrel of a gun press against my temple. He hissed at me in a language, I barely recognized the language as Mandarin, "_Fàngqì tā, gǒu niang yǎng de_." I only recognized the first two words as, 'Drop it.' I complied, putting my hands up as the gun clattered on the pavement.

He pulled me back and pushed me to my knees before starting to handcuff me, stopping with the sounds of a struggle. I saw the origin of the sounds, Joel was fighting off another soldier. Eventually he got behind the soldier, pulling the combat knife out of his belt and stabbing the soldier in the gut. He pulled the handgun out of the holster and shot the soldier in the head. Another gunshot, this time a bullet hit Joel in the left side; hitting him in the ribs and putting him to the ground. I used the moment to scramble for the rifle, grabbing it and turning around as the soldier pointed the handgun at me. I fired three shots before he pulled the trigger. One hit him in the chest and the other two went through his head. I turned to shoot the soldier off Brandon, but he already had the man restrained with and Alyssa had a gun to his head. They were both shouting at the soldier.

Deciding they had it under control, I went to Joel. He was struggling to get up, holding his side. I started to help him up, but he pushed me off saying, "I'm fine."

I backed up, letting him get up on his own. Brandon got fed up with the man he was crouched on and stood up to kick him in the face. He rolled the guy over, and I noticed a bullet wound that went through the kevlar. Brandon sat on top the guy and rammed his thumb deep into the hole, twisting it and digging in further until the soldier stopped screaming and passed out. He got up, tied the soldiers hands together and started to carry him. He looked at me and noticing the look of confusion on my face, scoffed and stated, "Just thought we should know who they are."

I checked the body of the man I shot, noticing a Chinese assault rifle slung over his back. A patch sewn into his right shoulder had a Chinese flag in it, and he had a pair of dog tags on. These were definitely Chinese military, so why the hell were they on the other side of the world? Shouldn't they be defending their country from the cordyceps?

Augustus Himmel- Berlin

_Two Years Ago_

I sat with my head on the desk. Western expansion was turning into our only solution for solving our nation's hunger. Russia will back us up if we do. But, we're just a means to an end for them. It seems like the Chinese Federation are expanding as well. Not into Europe anymore, but into the Pacific Ocean now. War was inevitable, though nobody was pushing, at least not yet.

None of these are what kept me up the past three nights, and what was making me contemplate on overdosing with my sleep inducing medicine and drinking half a bottle of were child's play compared to the overwhelming guilt I'm feeling. Russia turned Beijing and Tokyo into Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They launched two missiles, both complete with warheads containing an acidic compound created from immature spores. Inhale just one, and it roots in and spreads the acid throughout your entire head, dissolving all soft tissue slowly. Soft tissue such as the brain. The warheads burst over the cities, sending the mixture showering down on everything in a 120 kilometer radius. Almost the entire populations were wiped out over the three weeks it took for the spores to either die or float into the atmosphere.

It all happened because I let greed get in the way. I decided to allow the Russians to take infected men and women so they could turn the Spore into a larger WMD than it already was rather than give the cure to people who were competent enough to handle it. "It wasn't worth it," I said to nobody in particular before swallowing fifteen of the tiny white pills and finishing off a forty-year-old whisky bottle.


	16. Chapter 15- The Storm

**A/N: This is the final chapter except for the Epilogue.**

Chapter 15: The Storm

_Present Day_

Vasily Aristov- Kentucky

Our convoy stopped outside of this abandoned city. One of the former FEDRA soldiers in the convoy called it Lexington, but it was a pile of overgown rubble by now. We wouldn't even be here, if it wasn't for the fact this is an abandoned Quarantine Zone. After the change in power and dissolution of FEDRA, orders went through to begin reclaiming the nation. In order to do that, we began to reclaim the one-hundred and fifty seven abandoned QZs. The reports said that this city was taken over by a civilian uprising. I had spent about twenty minutes chewing their asses out after learning that trained military personnel with superior weapons and control of the supplies in the city, taken over by ragtag civilians and paramilitary wannabes.

The city was under control of a group of bandits led by an ex-Firefly named Ian Brown. From what I could piece together by reports, the state of the city, and the Fireflies 'cause' what happened. This man had joined the Fireflies for whatever idiotic reason, led the revolt in the city and somehow took it over, then decided to break away from the rebels to become their own city-state and put himself in power.

I felt somebody staring at me. I glanced at the other two people in the back of our APC, both of them were staring at me, one was a Twenty-five year old American named Stephen, and the other one was Corporal Darya. Both of them had an inquisitive look on their faces, but Stephen had a hint of disgust in his eyes. I remembered this was the first time either one of them saw me without something over my head and face. I gave a twisted grin and a bark of laughter, "I'm guessing you thought I only wore that mask to look tougher, _pravo_?" (right?)

Darya was the first to reply, thankfully speaking in Russian, "_Net, eto prosto... chtosluchilos'?_" (No, it's just… What the hell happened?)

I started to reply, but the convoy stopped and all units were told to continue in on foot. We've learned from previous engagements the vehicles just scare off bandits and attract Infected. I pulled my ski mask over my face and tightened the white hood around my head before stepping into the snow.

Joel- Wyoming

The snow crunched softly beneath my feet, snow was falling slowly, but it was going to be turning into a blizzard within an hour. I wrapped my jacket around me tighter to protect against the bitter cold. Tommy called me to the Pen, pretty much a two building lot that's been fenced in, about three minutes ago for interrogations of the person who attacked us last week. I got to the door and the guard told me they were in the basement.

I went downstairs and saw Brandon was leaning against a pillar with a bloody metal pipe at his side. Tommy was standing over the man who was tied to a chair yelling at him in the little bit of Chinese he learned in high school. The man was covered in bruises and cuts, with a large bloody spot on his cheek. I could guess that was caused by the pipe Brandon had. Brandon saw me out of the corner of his eye and gave a curt nod. "He ain't talking. Hasn't said a word apart from 'fuck you' when I cracked his cheek," He informed me, "By the way, where did your brother learn Chinese?"

"He paid a kid to teach him a little," I answered, "Never really saw a use for it, 'till now."

He chuckled at my response, even though it wasn't funny, then walked over to the person in the chair, and pushed three fingers into the bullet wound. I flinched at the sound of his screams, almost feeling bad for him. I asked Tommy who's been doing what. "It's pretty much been 'Bad Cop and Liam Neeson from _Taken_'," He replied.

I chuckled at the response before saying, "I can guess who's who."

Tommy sighed, irritated, "Guy's not saying a word."

"That's what Brandon said. Truth be told, I'm surprised he hasn't killed him yet," I said, gesturing towards Brandon.

Tommy gave a tight smile and was about to say something before he was interrupted by a cackling sound. We turned towards the prisoner, and sure enough, he was laughing. "You… you think it matters… what I tell you?" He panted, "You'll all… be dead… by… morning."

"The hell you talkin' about?" I asked walking over and pushing down on his legs.

He ignored me and spoke to Tommy, "You're… the leader… aren't you? You… think… you can keep… this town safe? It… will burn… before your _fucking eyes_." He spat the last two words out.

I shouted at him, I don't know how he was getting in my head so much. "Answer me! What the hell are you talking about!"

He looked up at me and gave an evil smile, "You… have somebody you care about… don't you?"

"Shut up."

He cackled before saying, "They're… a child, aren't they? A… little… girl, right?"

I hit him and shouted, "SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

He just kept laughing, continuing to get under my skin, "You… can't protect her… she will die… slowly… and painfully. And you… you are powerless… to stop it." He paused to cough then said, "The last thing… you'll hear… are her screams."

I pulled my revolver out and shot him, unable to take anymore. The shot caused Tommy to jump, "Jesus! What the hell, Joel?! We needed him alive!"

I glared at Tommy and growled, "No we didn't. He told us all we need to know."

Vasily Aristov- Kentucky

I followed my teammates out of the building. The only thirty survivors were sandwiched in between the two lines of our men. We suffered a mere four casualties in retaking the city. I ordered our soldiers to line them up against the wall of a building that still stood. I turned to Karl and said, "_Sie kennen das, scannen alle, die fünfunddreißig oder unter aussieht._" (You know the drill, scan everybody who looks thirty-five or under.)

He nodded and pulled out a scanner. He forced all of them to look him in the face, then either put the scanner at the base of their neck or moved on. One of them tried to stand up, only to get the steel points on the bottom of my boots hitting between their shoulder blades. The seventh person he scanned gave a high pitched whir signifying he was infected. I called over, "_Ersten oder Zweiten Stamm?_" (First or Second Strain?)

He hesitated a second before cheering, "_Wir haben endlich eine andere!_" (We've finally found another one!)

I grinned while listening to my men cheering and the Americans just looking confused as to why. I ordered Darya and Inge to form a squad and get him back to Doctor Groves in DC. After the celebration of finding another Second after five long years, one of the soldiers asked me what to do with the remaining twenty-nine. My grin vanished instantly and turned back into the emotionless expression I've grown accustomed to. I shouted, "Masks on!" before opening one of six pouches on my vest. I pulled out what was inside, a small cylinder that glowed the red-orange of immature spore pods. Pulled the pin and backed up about twenty feet, everybody else did the same, pointing their guns at anybody who tried to escape. I threw the Spore Canister at them, it burst and killed the two closest to it instantly, the ones farther out began to convulse and shriek in agony as the spores invaded their airways, rooting in and dispersing the acidic mixture throughout their head. Some of them began to develop a red spider web across their faces where the skin had been split.

After a while, I told all units to head back to the convoy before the blizzard hit. I saw Stephen approach me out of the corner of my eye, shouting at me, "What in the fuck did you just do to them?!"

I chuckled at his outrage, "What this QZ didn't have the balls to do; put down dissidents," I spoke more loudly for everybody to hear, "Alright! Put a marker down on the map for a team to come by and secure the area. We're moving out in half an hour!"

Xao Chen- Wyoming

I protected my face from the heavy snow with my arm, looking down angrily at the GPS monitor in my other hand. The blip caused by Corporal Tzu's tracking chip, one was implanted into all soldiers after a spike in desertion rates occurred in the Beijing Attack, had just disappeared from the image. We failed to find him in time, so now he's dead. Just a kilometer away from us as well. I turned back towards the Type 99 tank with us and spoke to the operator on the radio, "_Wǒ shīqùle xìnhào. Nǐ hái yǒu ma?_" (I lost the signal. Do you still have it?)

A response crackled through in Japanese, "_Fu no, watashi wa sore o ushinatta. Sakini tani no sekigaisen sukyan ga sen'yū machi o misete iru. Kare no burippudeatta koto to onaji kyori ni aru. Kōdō no watashitachi no kōsu wa nanidesu ka?_" (Negative, I just lost it. An infrared scan of the valley ahead is showing an occupied city. Same distance away that his blip was. What's our course of action?)

I sighed angrily, now I know for sure we were too late to find him. I could see the faint floodlights of the town through the blizzard, going from that, it was safe to assume the town had electricity. That'd make it only slightly harder, but despite our tank, we had a force of seventeen PLASOF soldiers and three snipers with us. The tank would be used as artillery until we got into the city, then the snipers will provide covering fire from this ridge. I thought back to something my father said before spending three months teaching me martial arts and dance after announcing I was joining the military, "_Cónglái méiyǒu yīgè rén shuí bùnéng tiàowǔ gěi yī bǎ jiàn._" (Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.) I smiled at the memory. These people obviously have a sword, but can they dance?

I shouted into my radio, "_Háohuǒle!_"


	17. Epilogue- Four Weeks Later

Epilogue: _Four Weeks Later_

My head is pounding. Hell, my entire body is pretty much in agony. I groaned, pulling myself out of sleep but kept my eyes closed. I ran my fingers through my hair, stopping where my ponytail should have been, but was missing. Reluctantly, I forced my eyes open, and found myself inside of the cage from three years ago. I backed up until I was against the wall.

I realized this place was different, and calmed down. The only table in the room wasn't the butcher's table with two chairs on either side and it was lit by electricity. While surveying my new surroundings, two voices appeared, first faint but picking up as they got closer. I didn't know what they were saying since they spoke in some strange language.

The door to my room opened and a bald man wearing a camouflage jacket with matching pants and a bulletproof vest stepped in. He turned to look at me, causing my heart to stop at his appearance. His face was cut in half by a massive scar from his left temple to his right jaw. His bottom lip was split by a scar that didn't fully bind the skin together and there were multiple long gashes from his nose to the top of his head. One of his eyes was completely white and the other one was an unnaturally dark brown. The only normal feature was a shaved beard. He knelt down in front of me and silently pulled small packet out of a pouch on his vest. It looked like the MREs they gave us at the military school, but I don't know if that's what it is because it's got some form of alien writing on it.

He opened it up then took a bite from it to show it was safe before handing it to me. I probably would've eaten it anyways. I'm so fucking hungry. I haven't eaten in… how long? The man laughed as lightly as possible for his deep, raspy voice. When he spoke, he had a very thick accent that slurred his words a little, "Easy there, kid. You've been out cold for almost a week, you're going to get sick if you eat so quickly."

I nodded, slowing down slightly. I swallowed the bite of the MRE and asked, "What the hell happened?"

"I could ask the same thing. We found you unconscious against a wall with three Chinese about to kill you," He paused, then asked, "You religious, kid?"

I shook my head and said, "No," through a mouthful of food.

He snorted and said, "You could've convinced me, I don't know of anybody who could survived that drop without something looking out for them."

I cringed as the memory came back and pushed it aside. In a more aggressive tone I asked, "Who are you?"

He ignored my question and grabbed my right hand, surprisingly gently for his massive hands. I tensed, remembering the last man other than Joel who did that. He spoke in a quieter tone, "You're special, you know that?" My heart rate quickened with terror at those words. He turned my arm over and rolled up my sleeve, revealing the bite. My terror shifted into a different kind when he said, "I know what you are."

He let go of my hand and backed up, sitting cross-legged a few feet in front of the cell. I was suddenly terrified of his fucked up appearance again and nervous of what he'd do because of the bite. "I-I'm not infected," I stammered.

He erupted in laughter after hearing me say that. When he stopped laughing, he went on this rant about somebody named Charles Darwin and something called natural selection, pretty much raising the theory that he is insane and confirming it. "This," He said while gesturing towards his face, "This was caused when I took down a Stage-Four in hand-to-hand combat. Most people don't survive the types of injuries I had before facial reconstruction surgery. That's my best trait that has kept me alive for all these years. Endurance and tolerance of pain. You, on the other hand, have a rare trait that's an incredible advantage in this world. You're a Second."

I was confused by what he meant. "What the fuck is a Second?"

"It's the name that's been given to person infected by CBI-2S, or Cordyceps Brain Infection Second Strain. It's the reason why you can't turn. You aren't immune or a carrier, you're just infected with a strain superior to the first one. The cure that my men have been fighting for, is just a bunch of spores from the Second Strain. Truth be told, I'm not in support of producing the cure. If a person is a Second, then so be it, but the production of a cure will not allow our species the ability to adapt to a world where adaptation is the only way to keep the species alive," His ranting or rambling is making my brain hurt and scaring me at the same time.

I stood, and repeated my earlier question. More slowly and forcefully than before, "Who. Are. You?"

He looked at me and leaned against the table folding his arms. He said in the same way I spoke, but much more intimidating, "Who are _you_."

He wasn't asking, it was a demand. I hesitated before speaking though, "Ellie."

He stared at me a second longer then gave a grin, the kink in his lip widening. "Not what I'd of guessed, but guess you can't choose. I'm Vasily, it's a pleasure to meet you, Ellie."

_**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the second part of the Rebuild series, I'd appreciate it if you left a review and I'll start the third part, The Frozen North within the next couple days. Thanks for reading!**_


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